Fly Catbug Fly! Review

This is a game about a cat. Not just any cat â€“ it’s a game about a flying insect cat that collects flying trash. Fly Catbug Fly is a bit close to Flappy Bird, but it’s closer to the old helicopter game that Flappy Bird was ripped off from. Catbug (of Bravest Warriors fame) flies through the never-ending corridor, bordered by solid matter on top and bottom, and has to evade it, as well as some small â€œislandsâ€ in the middle, while collecting trash. The trash consists of truly random items, ranging from old bottles to what to my twisted mind looked suspiciously like dirty toys, to leprechauns. There are portals scattered around the levels, which take the trash from Catbug, and give some cash in return. After picking enough trash, a hyper mode of sorts kicks in and you lose. At least that’s what happen to me all the time.

The background and music changes after a while, and ranges from weird to yet weirder. To be fair, the same can be said about every in-game object. The fun part is that Fly Catbug Fly isn’t even trying to be strange â€“ it’s an endearing little arcade that just happens to be rather insane. There are lots of obtainable paraphernalia, divided into four kinds. First, there’s swag that Catbug can wear and look cuter/even more bizarre. Then there are upgrades that improve Catbug’s health, diving ability that can help evade the sudden dips in the corridor.

Additionally, there are power-ups that are unlocked, and then can be found around the level, like magnets. Finally, there are unlockable people with level-destructing weapons that you can pick up like power-ups, but that hang from under the Catbug and fire their weapons into the level, clearing chunks of it out. It’s not only strange, but also rather counter-productive, as their giant height and explosions actually make it harder to navigate the level, and the only use they have is clearing out the little islands in the middle â€“ and there are several of them, with an option to upgrade each one.

Anyway, apart from the strange armed people, Fly Catbug Fly is pretty neat. It’s just an infinite round of picking up trash and leveling, but it’s quirky and is fun enough to last for some time. If you pick it up, at least play until you see the partying lettuce horse people, and I do believe it’s the first time anyone has typed â€œpartying lettuce horse peopleâ€.